Chapter Twelve: Forgotten

“You never care about your daughter’s affairs. Have you forgotten? Just two months ago, didn’t a group of people come to our house?” the middle-aged woman said slowly.

“Oh? Did they? I don’t remember.” Old Six patted his head.

“They came carrying all sorts of gifts, saying they were here to propose marriage,” the middle-aged woman paused, then continued. “Your father and I went out to greet them. They were from the Sun family in Pines Town. When we asked their purpose, they said it was for their son to propose to our daughter. We invited them inside to discuss.”

“You ought to be happy,” Xumiao remarked, puzzled. A marriage proposal should be a joyful event.

“Ah, you don’t understand. Of course, we were pleased at first. But their son, though handsome enough, is reputed to be quite the playboy. How could my daughter possibly find happiness married to someone like that?” The middle-aged woman sighed.

“Tell me, how could I bear to let my daughter marry a libertine? It’s not as if we’re in need of money,” she continued.

“That’s true. Everyone wants their daughter to marry into a good family. You could have just found some excuse to turn down the proposal,” Xumiao suggested gently.

“We wanted to refuse, but that Sun family’s son was dead set on marrying Ling’er,” the woman sighed.

“Why not ask your daughter?” Xumiao said.

“You’re right. We called Ling’er out to hear her opinion. But as soon as she appeared, that Sun family’s son kept casting lewd glances at her, which was very off-putting,” the woman said angrily.

“Well, your daughter is beautiful, you can’t blame him,” Xumiao waved dismissively.

“You know Ling’er is proud and rarely finds anyone to her liking. As usual, she refused,” the woman said.

“She refused? That’s perfectly normal,” Xumiao replied.

“But the Sun family wouldn’t give up. Before leaving, they insisted they would use any means necessary to make Ling’er their daughter-in-law,” the woman said bitterly.

“So that’s how you became enemies, and then they sought out King Golden Axe to deal with you,” Xumiao said calmly.

“That’s right,” Old Six replied.

“Your family’s troubles have nothing to do with me. You’ll have to handle it yourselves. I’ll take my leave.” Xumiao stood, bowed to Old Six and the woman, and strode out of the dining hall.

Not long after Xumiao left, the woman turned to Old Six and said, “Well? Has his arrival affected your plans much?”

Old Six didn’t speak—he simply nodded with his eyes closed.

“You know, there’s so much waiting for you back home, yet you insisted on coming to this remote little country, dragging me along. And not only that, you even disguised yourself into this lazy, plump form,” the woman suddenly complained.

“What could I do? I was asked for help, so I had to come. Besides, I didn’t want those bothersome people to catch wind of it, so I had to disguise myself,” Old Six replied, opening his eyes slowly.

“You’re still so loyal to your friends,” the woman smiled.

“Ah, what can I do? I’ve known him for years,” Old Six smiled faintly.

After leaving Old Six’s home, Xumiao went straight back to the temple on the mountain. Once there, he looked around, made sure nothing was amiss, found a spot, lay down, and fell asleep.

The next day, sunlight streamed through the cracks in the temple’s windows, flooding the modest hall and driving away its darkness.

“Mmm, ah.” Lu Zhe stretched, slowly sitting up from the ground, yawning and looking around. When he realized he was lying in the temple, he was startled. “How did I end up here?”

He recalled the events of yesterday and murmured, “Yesterday I went to Uncle Six’s for a meal, then assassins came, one of them knocked me out... and then... Ah, my head hurts.”

Clutching his head, Lu Zhe stood, glanced around, and suddenly remembered someone. Who? Little Hui! What happened to him?

Lu Zhe hurried to the statue, calling out beneath it, but no matter how he called, there was no response. He lifted the curtain, only to find no one there. He searched everywhere, even outside the temple, but found nothing. Dejected, he sat on the ground, mumbling, “Where could he have gone?”

After searching to no avail, Lu Zhe finally stood up and went to the usual stream to wash his face. Just as he lowered his head, he was surprised to find that the wound on his chest was gone.

“What’s going on?” Lu Zhe rubbed his chest repeatedly, asking himself. Suddenly, he remembered yesterday at Old Six’s house. Perhaps Old Six knew something.

With this in mind, Lu Zhe wasted no time, wiped his face haphazardly, and ran down the mountain toward the dock.

Reaching the dock, Lu Zhe went to Old Six’s house, pushed open the door, and entered to find Old Six napping in a chair.

“Uncle Six,” Lu Zhe called cautiously.

“Hm?” Old Six struggled to open his eyes, rubbed them, and sat up. When he saw it was Lu Zhe, he jumped to his feet and looked Lu Zhe up and down. “Xumiao?”

Lu Zhe, hearing this, looked around and behind him, making sure no one else was present, then pointed at himself uncertainly. “Uncle Six, are you calling me?”

Old Six stared at Lu Zhe with a strange look, then asked uncertainly, “Lu Zhe?”

“Yes, it’s me,” Lu Zhe replied.

Yet Old Six didn’t stop scrutinizing him, and after a while, he asked again, “Are you Xumiao or Lu Zhe?”

“I already said I’m Lu Zhe. Uncle Six, what’s wrong?” Lu Zhe asked impatiently.

“Oh, nothing. As long as it’s really you,” Old Six sighed in relief, then, as if remembering something, rushed over and patted Lu Zhe up and down, asking anxiously, “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Lu Zhe replied, checking himself.

“How many fingers is this?” Old Six held up three fingers.

“I’m fine,” Lu Zhe said.

“Just answer—how many?” Old Six demanded loudly.

“Three,” Lu Zhe answered helplessly.

“Anywhere feeling unwell?” Old Six asked.

“No, I feel great,” Lu Zhe smiled.

“That’s good,” Old Six breathed a long sigh of relief, plopped back into his chair.

“By the way, Uncle Six, do you remember what happened yesterday?” Lu Zhe pulled up a chair and asked.

“What’s the matter?” Old Six replied.

“I remember I came to your house for dinner, then your enemies showed up, then I fought one of them, got knocked out, and then what happened?” Lu Zhe pressed eagerly.

“You... you don’t remember?” Old Six asked, eyeing Lu Zhe strangely.

“No,” Lu Zhe nodded.

“Nothing much. After you lost consciousness, a mysterious master appeared and took care of them all,” Old Six smiled.

“What did this master look like?” Lu Zhe asked, intrigued.

“I don’t know. He had his face covered,” Old Six explained.

“Oh,” Lu Zhe didn’t ask further.

“Tell me, Lu Zhe, you really don’t remember anything from yesterday?” Old Six asked.

“Not a thing,” Lu Zhe replied firmly.

“Have you tried recalling?” Old Six asked.

“I tried, but it’s useless—I can’t remember anything,” Lu Zhe answered.

“Oh,” Old Six nodded.

“By the way, Uncle Six, Little Hui is missing,” Lu Zhe said, standing.

“Little Hui? That little fellow who’s always with you?” Old Six asked.

“Yes,” Lu Zhe nodded.

“When did he disappear?” Old Six asked.

“Last night, I suppose. When I woke up today, he was gone,” Lu Zhe said anxiously.

“Hmm, I’ll help you look for him,” Old Six said, stroking his chin.

“Thank you, Uncle Six,” Lu Zhe said, bowing. He opened the door and left.

Old Six watched Lu Zhe leave, then slowly reclined behind the chair, closed his eyes, and gently rocked, as if talking to himself, “What do you think?”

“This isn’t my area. You tell me,” a gruff voice sounded from inside Old Six’s room, though there was no one there but Old Six.

“I don’t think he’s lying,” Old Six said, unbothered by the voice’s origin, still rocking.

“What now?” the voice asked.

“No matter what, we must ensure nothing happens to him before he turns fifteen, or his clan will skin us alive,” Old Six said, rocking.

“Hmph, if that old codger hadn’t asked us, I’d never take on babysitting,” the voice grumbled.

“Try refusing them. That clan could erase you from the continent in an instant, not even a hair left. No matter how many friends or connections you have, none of it matters to them. The only thing that counts is your strength; only those with the biggest fists get to speak,” Old Six replied with a faint smile.

“If they’re so powerful, why don’t they send someone from their own clan?” the voice asked.

“Don’t forget, if word gets out that Lu Zhe is here, his clan’s enemies would skin him before his people even arrived. Not even we could stop them,” Old Six said, shaking his head.

“Such a young age, so many enemies,” the voice complained.

“Didn’t his clan send strong guardians to watch over him?” the voice asked suddenly.

“They did,” Old Six replied, sitting up.

Then he settled back into his chair, closed his eyes as if contemplating something, and rocked with a sense of ease.

“My friend, since you’re here, why not show yourself?” Old Six said gently.

No sooner had he spoken than the space in front of him began to twist like a vortex. Soon, a figure in black appeared before Old Six.

The man in black shook out his robe, glanced at Old Six, and bowed, “Ha, you saw through my ‘Spatial Concealment Technique.’ Truly—”

He was about to continue, but Old Six waved his right hand, signaling him to stop.

“Kid, when I was currying favor across the continent, your grandfather hadn’t even been born yet,” Old Six said, rocking, calm as a still pond.

“Yes,” the man replied, unfazed.

“Go back and tell them Lu Zhe is safe here. Let them rest assured. And don’t come again. The more you visit, the more likely they’ll get suspicious,” Old Six said, waving his hand.

“Yes,” the man in black replied, bowed, then paused, quickly formed hand seals. As he did, the space around him began to twist, and he slowly faded from sight.

Old Six paid no mind to the disappearance, continuing to lounge in his chair, muttering to himself, “Honestly, regular progress reports... and still another year to go.”